WoundFilled Hands
by Kris Harold
Summary: Thanks to an incident at a party, Ino was forced to change schools. The only problem was that the only school that was close enough that her family could afford was an all-boys boarding school. Will her true identity be uncovered?
1. Chapter 1

**Wound-Filled Hands**

**Chapter 1**

Ino closed the dresser drawer after she had finished neatly folding her clothes in them, sliding her suitcase beneath her bed. She wanted to avoid her new roommate as much as possible for as long as possible. A loud crash echoed from the main hall and someone began to yell.

Quickly adjusting her hat, she opened the door to peer out at the commotion. A boy with long, blonde hair ran around the lobby, yelling frantically.

"No! I just got it back to the length I like it!" he yelled.

A dark-haired boy chased him with a pair of scissors. She noticed he wore a strange, lollipop-looking mask. "But, Deidara-sempai, you must! The headmaster will kick you out!"

"Let him!" he yelled back.

A boy with short, spiky blonde hair leaned on the railing to the right of the door where Ino stood. He seemed entertained at the scene below them. "Tobi, don't let him get away! If he doesn't hold still, shave him bald," he jeered.

Deidara screamed as Tobi cackled with the idea, making the boy who suggested it laugh.

He turned around and walked towards Ino. "So, you're the new guy, huh?"  
"If this is your room, then, yes," she answered. Her gaze locked on six scars on his cheeks. They seemed deep and not well taken care of but old.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, how about you?"

"My name is Athrun Yamanaka," she replied.

"Are you all settled in?" he asked, stepping past her into the room.

"Pretty much," she answered. "Classes start tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," he groaned, "And orientation is tonight in the auditorium." He didn't sound particularly excited about it. Naruto began to eye her hat. "What's with the hat?"

"I like hats," she lied.

"You won't be able to wear it to classes or orientation, you know." He grinned slyly, "Your hair is longer than regulation, isn't it?"

She hung her head.

"Do you need a hand cutting it?" he offered, "I'm sure Tobi would love to give you a hand."

Deidara screamed loudly from the lobby as Tobi laughed victoriously. "Why?" the upperclassman yelled dramatically.

"I think I'll cut it myself, thanks," she said.

"He isn't that bad."

"I'd rather not chance it."

"Wuss," he teased.

Ino scoffed, wondering again why she was in an all-boys boarding school. It was not only embarrassing, but also very annoying. Boys were such idiots.

"Whatever," she grumbled. Yanking a pair of scissors from her belongings, she headed for the bathroom down the hall. "I'll be right back."

She was happy to have the bathroom to herself. Removing her hat, Ino began to comb out her long hair with her fingers. She'd spent years growing it out, and she detested her family for making her transfer there after the incident. The alias "Athrun" hadn't been pulled out of nowhere: it was the middle name of her infant son Riku.

The thought of the child turned her stomach in strange ways, torn with emotion. As she raised the scissors to her hair, the memories rolled around in her head once again. She still wasn't clear of what happened, which made her think about it more.

She attended a party, and someone had brought alcohol. The party was a lot of fun, but she remembered someone following her around. She didn't know his name or quite remember his face, though she would know it if she saw him. There was too much alcohol for her to remember what happened clearly.

The next thing she remembered was waking up at home, sprawled across her living room couch. Less than six days later, she discovered she was pregnant, but her family couldn't afford an abortion. Even if they could, Ino knew her parents found it immoral. So, when the time came, she gave birth to Riku Athrun Yamanaka.

Her parents decided it would be best for her to transfer schools until they discovered who the father was and to take her out of her school's environment.

'_I wonder how Riku's doing…_'

Trimming the ends delicately, she mentally noted how it almost looked like how she wore it as a child. She raked her fingers through her hair multiple times. It felt so strange. Ino couldn't stop running her fingers through her hair even as she cleaned up the hair and returned to her room, hat in hand.

Naruto leaned against the door, arms folded, as she approached. "It doesn't look too bad," he complimented.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Change into your uniform; everyone has to report for the orientation in an hour," he notified. He was already changed into the formal uniform that consisted of a brown blazer with a maroon sweater underneath and a tucked, black tie. The formal slacks were brown, as well with black shoes.

Ino groaned inwardly. She concluded that whoever picked out he colors for their uniforms needed to die. Well, at least a good fashion-tutor. "Is it required?" she asked dreadfully.

He nodded. "See you downstairs," Naruto said as he left.

After she changed into the hideous uniform, Ino opened the door and walked down the stairs to the lobby. Her roommate was lounging on one of the three couches and talking to another classmate.

Her stomach leapt into her throat when she recognized the boy to be a boy that lived down her block as kids. Naruto tilted his head back to see her. "Hey, Athrun, this is my friend Chouji," he introduced.

"Hey," the slightly-round boy greeted.

"Hi," Ino answered nervously. Did Chouji remember her? Could he recognize her?

She held her breath unconsciously, letting it out as she heard running footsteps behind her. Naruto heard the footsteps, as well, and jumped off the couch and to the side just as Tobi crashed face-first into the furniture.

Naruto looked puzzled. "Tobi?" He thought a moment and sighed, "How many Starbursts have you eaten?"

"Sixty-eight, but I think I lost count," he replied into the sofa cushion.

"Just tell me you didn't give that many to—"

Naruto crashed to the floor, flat on his back with another raven-haired boy pinning him down. Ino thought the boy's hairstyle was shaped odd, like that of a duck's butt. "Naruto, you're back!" he cheered.

"I see you've had too many Starbursts again," the blonde sighed.

"I was taking them from Tobi and I couldn't help it," he replied. His wide eyes and broad smile seemed very out of the place for the boy's appearance. Changing the subject and completely ignoring the suggestive position he had over the blonde, he pouted, "Why aren't you my roommate this year? Who's trying to steal my baby fox?"

"First, it's because someone else is my roommate. Second, no one is trying to steal me. Third, I'm not your baby fox. And fourth, _get the hell off me_!" Naruto jerked his body to make Sasuke tumble off. He quickly stood to avoid another tackle.

Naruto turned to Deidara as he walked into the lobby. "Deidara, make sure they don't eat anymore Starbursts."

Deidara grabbed each Uchiha by the collars of their suits and pulled them away with him. "Yeah, yeah, if I feel like it," he brushed off.

Sasuke held his arms open like a child towards Naruto as he was dragged away. "I love you, Naruto!" he called.

Naruto's face turned dark red as Sasuke's declarations of love faded in the distance. Ino watched him strangely, slightly afraid for herself all of a sudden.

Chouji laughed, "What was that about?"

"Whenever he has a lot of sugar—mainly Starbursts—Sasuke acts like he's drunk since he doesn't have candy much. Once the sugar is out of him, he'll be back to normal," he sighed.

"What about Tobi?" Ino asked.

"That's just Tobi; he's always like that. It's just a little worse when he was sugar," Naruto explained.

"Whatever, let's go. The sooner we get orientation done with, the sooner we can eat!" Chouji declared. He trotted out of the building to go to the main hall.

Naruto strode out after him and Ino followed. She would have to find out where everything was quickly, and she hoped Naruto would help her.

The orientation was long and boring. Several students fell asleep by the chorus of scattered snoring. She almost joined their ranks when it ended and Chouji sprinted for the cafeteria before anyone else had even stood.

Naruto burst out laughing, "Good old Chouji!"

'_He always _did _care about food more than anything…_' Ino sighed, walking out of the hall while the boys chattered. She did a decent job ignoring them as she bustled through the cafeteria line, and she quietly took an empty table in the back of the room.

Naruto soon crash-landed in the seat next to her. "Hey, Athrun! What are you doing way over here?"

"Eating supper; what does it look like, Bonehead?"

"Why don't you come sit with me and Chouji?" he asked, still far too excited for someone at school and completely ignoring the fact that he'd just been called a bonehead.

"Because I want to sit here," she replied curtly.

"Fine," he said as he waved his hand to signal Chouji, Deidara, and Tobi to join the table, "Then we'll sit here."

Chouji continued stuffing his face happily without skipping a bet and Ino wondered if he even tasted it. Or if he even stopped to breathe, for that matter.

Deidara was repeatedly tackling Tobi in a never-ending war of a bag of Starbursts and vice versa until Naruto snatched the bag and threw it at Chouji. After one try, they decided it wasn't worth losing fingers over since Chouji would surely break or eat them if they tried to retrieve the candy.

Ino said nothing and continued eating, tuning out the babble. All they talked about was movies they saw over the summer and the girls in them. It didn't enter her mind that, were she at her old school, she would be discussing the boys in movies she saw over the summer. A nude to her elbow collapsed her mental block.

Naruto poked her again. "Did you see anything good over the summer?"

"No," she replied, taking a bite into her cookie.

"Not _one_?" Chouji asked.

"You had to see _something_ over the summer," Naruto pressed.

"No, I was busy all summer," she answered flatly.

Naruto sat back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. "That sucks."

Ino shrugged, standing from the table with the skeleton remains of her meal. "I'm heading back to the room. Talk to you later," she said.

"See you, Athrun!" they chorused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Walking through the door, Ino walked straight to her desk and dropped her twenty-pound backpack beside it. With a heavy sigh, she sat in the chair to begin her homework. She had two tests the next day, an unfinished project due, and three assignments that needed to be finished.

The assignments were short and easy, and she had them finished by the time Naruto arrived a half hour after she had. Materials for her history poster littered her desk and the papers drifted into the air a fraction with the air disturbance from the door.

"Hey, Athrun!" Naruto greeted, "Are you ready for the biology and math tests tomorrow?"

"I'm working on it," she replied.

He sat on his bed and pulled out his own homework and started working. Though he had less homework, it took Naruto a long time to complete it. He managed to drag his roommate from the desk to eat dinner, but she was back to work as soon as she was finished. He rejoined her in the room soon enough.

She was finished with her poster, along with the two-page paper to thoroughly explain it, studying for her tests from her bed. Ino chewed on ice cubes to occupy herself while she studied.

"So," Naruto began uncertainly, "What are you here for?" He realized that in the month they had been roommates, he didn't know much about the student. Everyone had a reason for being sent to this private school, but many of them wouldn't admit it.

"Trouble at my old school," she answered. "What about you?" Ino indicated to her cheeks to animate her roommate's scars. "What's your story?"

"Troubles at home," he replied, "My parents were killed in a break-in when I was little so I've been jumping from foster home to foster home for years because they'd always kick me out. Life wasn't much better before then, though… It's how I got the first of these." He pointed to the top one of the three below his left eye. "I live with my godfather Jiraiya now ever since he showed up out of nowhere a few years ago—he likes to travel.

"As for the rest of the scars, I used to get in a lot of fights in my old schools. The last one I got into before I was expelled left me with these. Then Jiraiya decided sending me here would be a good idea, since I only got in fights at school and not outside because he would kick my ass. He wanted to go on another trip, anyway."

Naruto peered over from his bed at her books, ignoring how she gaped at him. "Anything I can help you with?"

"No, I got it," she assured. "I'm going to stay up and study for a while. You can go ahead and sleep."

He snuggled underneath his bed covers as he heard her yawn. "See you in the morning. Don't stay up too late."

The next morning, Naruto found Athrun's bed empty. Unlike other mornings, it wasn't neatly made, but it instead looked as haphazard as his. Picking up his backpack, he hurried off to his first class of the day and saw his roommate.

Her skin was pale and she seemed half-asleep, head resting against her hand. Naruto poked Chouji in the back. "What's up with Athrun today? Is he okay?"

"I don't know; I was going to ask you. He looks sick to me," he answered quietly.

"He should go back to bed," he thought aloud.

Chouji nodded in agreement.

Sure enough, as she turned in her test, she asked to be excused to see the nurse. The teacher granted her request and she left the classroom, towing the garbage can behind her.

Naruto returned to their room more quickly than usual, at the request of the nurse, to check on her. He found her curled up in bed with a trashcan at her side.

He sat down at the end of the bed. "Hey, how are you feeling, Athrun?"

She turned on her back sleepily to look at him. "Like crap."

"You look like it," he answered. Naruto saw the clammy, cold sweat against her skin, making her hair stick to it. His hand reached over to feel her forehead. "Your fever's pretty bad," he noted.

"Imagine that," she groaned.

"Did you eat anything for lunch?"

She shook her head. "I've been sleeping."

"Come eat supper with me. After that, you can just take a shower and go to bed," he advised.

"Yes, ma'am," Ino teased, sitting up slowly.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the joke. "Very funny," he replied sarcastically.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I thought you'd think so."

When he noticed her eyes repeatedly scanning the room, he asked, "What are you looking for?"

"Where did I put my shoes?" she muttered.

"They're by the door," he answered, remembering seeing them as he entered.

Ino stood and retrieved her shoes, sitting down to put them on. "I'm not really that hungry. I should just stay in bed."

"Then give whatever you don't want to Chouji; he'll be thrilled." Naruto walked over to the door and waited. He noticed how she paused every so often to rub a hand over her face or head, particularly her eyes. "Do you have a headache?"

She nodded. "Let me wash my face and we can go." Ino stepped past her roommate to make the journey down the hall to the bathroom.

The bathroom's only other occupant was Deidara who was trying to fix his hair from Tobi's assault on it when the term began. "Hey, Athrun," he greeted without looking in her direction.

"Hi, Deidara," she answered on her way to the sink.

He neatly trimmed an uneven section of hair. "Where were you today?"

She turned on the cold water. "The nurse excused me from classes for the day because of fever," Ino explained before splashing her face repeatedly a few times with water. The cold felt refreshing on her skin, but she regretted not using warm water, instead. Grabbing a paper towel, she wiped down her face and turned off the water.

Watching as he tried desperately to fix the crude haircut, Ino asked, "Do you want some help? I can't do it tonight, but I could probably do it tomorrow."

He paused a moment in thought before continuing. "No, thanks."

Ino shrugged and left the bathroom. Naruto was waiting at the railing and looked up when she approached. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered truthfully. At her level of nausea, food was the last thing on her mind.

"It won't kill you. Let's go," he egged, putting a hand on her shoulder to gently push her along. Naruto never moved his hand until they entered the cafeteria.

Once they had their food, Ino having taken very little, they sat down with Chouji, Tobi, and Sasuke. Ino eyed Sasuke warily. She really didn't feel like being tackled. He acted nothing like he had during his Starburst craze, so she decided it was safe to sit at the table.

"What took you so long, Dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"Athrun's sick and I thought I was going to have to drag him here. Do you mind?" he replied haughtily.

"I told you I'm not hungry," she muttered.

"Can I have your food, then?" Chouji asked.

"Knock yourself out," she answered, pushing it towards him. It was stopped by Naruto's hand.

"Not yet; eat something first."

Staring at him stubbornly for several moments, she defiantly picked up her small bowl of mixed fruits and popped a grape in her mouth. Naruto nodded for her to continue. After she'd consumed the remainder of the bowl, she said, "There, happy?"  
He placed the half-sandwich in front of her. "Go on."

"You have to be kidding me," she groaned.

"Humor me," he retorted.

Glaring, she nibbled on the sandwich before Naruto handed her the bottle of water from her tray to push the rest at Chouji. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Letting Chouji have the rest of your food," he replied, "You look like you're about to puke."

"I might," she muttered, reaching for her water.

Chouji was already munching happily on the food from her tray. "Just don't puke in my direction!" he declared.

Ino laughed slightly as she stood. "I'm heading back, guys. I'll talk to you later," she said.

Naruto watched her go. "Do you think he'll be okay? He looks horrible."

"He'll be fine," Sasuke replied dully.

"I don't know," Chouji disagreed, also keeping an eye on the retreating figure, "He didn't eat much."

Tobi jumped up from his seat. "I'll get him some Starbursts!"

Sasuke gripped Tobi's sleeve and forced him to sit back down. "Not going to happen."

"No Starbursts?" he pouted.

"No Starbursts," he confirmed.

"Go check on him, Naruto," Chouji said between munches, "He doesn't look very good."

He stood. "Yeah, I guess I'd better."

As Naruto walked away, Chouji called, "Wait, can I have your food?"

He waved a hand behind him. "Go ahead." Naruto let his concerned thoughts roll around in his head as he walked and concern for the depths of those thoughts, as well. They skidded to a halt when he stood in front of the door to their room when he heard his roommate talking in the empty room.

"I stayed in bed today," Ino said lowly into her non-confiscated cell phone, "And I don't feel much better yet."

There was a long pause as her other spoke before she said, "I know, I know. I think I'm just a little homesick, that's all. How's Riku? Is he getting big?"

Another long pause before she groaned, "I wish I was there. Can you send me some pictures of him? I know you're planning to come for parents' day, but I would like to have some more recent pictures on hand."

She waited as her mother spoke. "I'm fine, but this school is just…" she groaned, "Don't ask." Ino took a sharp breath, like the question was going to be painful, "Mom, have you found anything yet?" She sighed heavily at the answer.

"How hard can it be?" she demanded, "It's just one--"

Her body froze as Naruto walked in. "…person."

"Athrun, who are you talking to?"

She looked like a deer caught in a set of headlights. Her mouth moved, but no noise seemed to be tangible in her stuttering. Ino whispered into the phone, "I have to go," and closed it.

"I thought cell phones weren't allowed here."

"I can explain that," she stuttered.

"That you miss your parents?" He raised an eyebrow.

Her eyes shifted side-to-side nervously.

Naruto took the blue phone from her hand to look at it. "It's a nice phone. I'm surprised you were able to sneak it in," he commented as he tossed the phone onto Ino's bed.

"It wasn't as hard as you make it sound," she said carefully. Stashing her phone away, she grabbed a set of pajamas. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Ino hurried out of the room to the showers. She was happy he didn't seem to hear the entire conversation. The worst she would have to suffer through would be humiliation for missing her mom, unless he turned in her phone and the headmaster called her parents. That wouldn't end well in any way.

Climbing past the first curtain, she removed her clothes and folded them in a neat pile, setting them on a small chair. Ino climbed past the second curtain into the actual shower and turned up the hot water, and she began to think of her next course of action.

Meanwhile, Naruto noticed his roommate's towel left at the foot of the bed. He snickered, "He just might need that."

Scooping up the towel, he headed for the showers. "Athrun, you left your towel," he said. The water was still running and he assumed his voice was drowned out, so he walked over to the only occupied stall and walked past the first curtain, carefully hanging up the towel nearby when the water turned off.

Naruto heard the shower's occupant move around before opening the curtain to search for the towel. The moment she saw Naruto, she pulled the curtain shut with a loud gasp with shock.

He definitely caught an eyeful and stood in shock, unable to move.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Naruto thrust the towel at the curtain, keeping his gaze in the opposite direction, and his face flushed deeply. "Umm," he forced out, "I'll see you in the room."

Brain momentarily frozen, she reached out and snatched the towel form his hand. He ran out of the room to his own as the first few people started trickling in from dinner. Ino's brain gears were attempting to force themselves back in motion.

He saw.

He knew.

She was toast.

She dried her body and pulled on her pajamas. Keeping the towel around her neck, she pretended to be thoroughly drying her hair as she left the showers to give her shaking hands something to do. It sounded like someone called her name from the downstairs lobby but she didn't stop to investigate.

Once she was inside their room, she shut the door and took the towel from her shoulders. Naruto's face was still dark red, returning hers to the same color. He cleared his throat as Ino shifted uncomfortably in the silence.

"So…" he began, "Who are you, really?"

She swallowed hard, throat unnaturally dry. "Ino Yamanaka."

"Why are you here?"

"I…"

Ino stared down at her feet. "I can't tell you."

Naruto looked up at her, redness fading. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to tell the headmaster," he threatened.

"You wouldn't," she retorted with hollow confidence.

"Just tell me why you're at an all-boys boarding school."

Ino's face reddened further. "Not so loud!" She sat down on her bed and hissed, "You can't tell anyone, got it?"

Naruto folded his arms and legs where he sat on his bed. "Try me."

She fished out her cell phone and clicked a few buttons before holding it out to him. He saw a picture of a baby with light brown hair. "What about it?" he asked.

"It's a picture of my son," she answered, withdrawing the phone to stash away again.

He gaped at her. "What?"

She nodded. "So I had to change schools and this is the only one close enough that my parents could afford."

"So who's the father?"

Ino sighed. "I don't know."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't know who the father of your own kid is?"

"It's not what you think," she groaned, knowing what he was assuming. "There was a party and I drank too much and I can't remember much after that."

Naruto stayed quiet for a long time. "So, what's the kid's name?"

"Riku Athrun Yamanaka," she answered.

He scoffed, "I guess that answers where you picked your name…"

Stringing her towel over the railing at the end of her bed, Ino opened the door. "So now you can go announce it."

Naruto shook his head. "No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean," he said as he stood to close the door. A few seconds after it echoed shut, he repeated, "No."

He turned around and climbed onto his bed, pulling out his untouched homework.

"You're not going to bust me?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"You're not reporting me?"

"Nuh-uh," he answered, pulling out a pencil.

"Why aren't you freaking out about this?" she nearly yelled out of frantic.

"Because my brain will explode if I think about it too much, so I'm not."

"I'm glad one of us is taking it lightly," she muttered, plopping down into her bed.

"Good-night," he said.

Ino sighed and crawled beneath the bed covers. "Good-night."

It took about an hour and a half for Naruto to finish his homework. Just as he turned off the lights with the decision to go to bed early, Ino woke up and gripped the trashcan. In three short heaves, her entire dinner was in the garbage. He woke up again at four in the morning to the sounds of her heaving.

Sitting up, Naruto turned on a lamp and rubbed one of his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Ino cleared her throat, leaning back to rest against the wall. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you need some water or something?"

She thought a moment before answering, "Yes, please."

Naruto dragged himself out of bed and, dragging an empty water bottle with him, he left for the bathroom. He found Sasuke was also in the bathroom, washing his face. "Hey, Sasuke. What are you doing up?"

Drying his face, he answered, "Bad dream. What about you?" He eyed the water bottle.

"Athrun is puking again so I was just getting him some water." Naruto turned on the cold water in one of the sinks. "What was the dream about?"

"Itachi again," he sighed.

"I thought you stopped having those with the counseling."

"So did I," Sasuke answered.

"Are you going to be okay?"  
He nodded. "I think so. I don't think I'm going back to sleep for a little while, though."

"At least it's the weekend," Naruto yawned. Turning off the water and screwing on the lid, he said, "Well, I'll talk to you later. Sleep well."

"Yeah," he scoffed.

Naruto made his way back to his room. Ino was dry-heaving into the trashcan, turning over his stomach uncomfortably. "Ino?"

Once she stopped heaving and caught her breath, she sat back in her bed. "Do you have the water?"

He passed it to her, and she quickly downed half of the water. Naruto pressed a hand to her forehead. "Your fever seems to have gone up a little."

"Great," she groaned sarcastically, lying down in her bed.

"Just get some sleep," he advised.

"M'kay," she mumbled, already snuggling up to her pillow.

Naruto crawled under his own blankets and drifted off to sleep quickly. In the morning, he was surprised not to wake up to the sounds of heaving. He saw his roommate was sound asleep, as well as pale and sweaty. Deciding to let her sleep a little longer, he crept out of the room and to the lobby.

Chouji, Sasuke, and Deidara were sitting there already. The Uchiha was reading while the other two talked about something indistinct. Naruto took a seat next to Chouji on the couch.

"Hey," he greeted tiredly.

"Hey, Naruto," Chouji replied, "What's up with you?"

"Athrun kept waking me up when he was puking last night. He doesn't look much better than yesterday," he yawned. "I wish there was something I could do to make him feel better."

Tobi came running in out of nowhere, giggling childishly, and tackled Deidara in a hug. "How about telling his parents to send Starbursts?" he suggested.

Deidara pushed his friend off casually, as if he were brushing off a stray pillow that had been thrown at him.

Chouji said, "Tobi's on the right track, though. Why don't you call his parents and ask what they give him when he's sick?"

Naruto rolled this over in his brain as Tobi sat on the arm of his side of the couch. He ignored the upperclassman even as his hair was toyed around with child-like wonder. "I don't know…"

"Or at least get him some soup or something," Chouji advised.

"Do you think it'll help him?"

Chouji nodded confidently.

Sighing, Naruto said, "All right, then." He stood, accidentally knocking Tobi backwards with the motion, and headed back to his room to dress. Ino was still soundly asleep as he snatched her cell phone and found her mother in the contact list.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered after two rings.

"Hello, is Mrs. Yamanaka there?" He spoke quietly to not wake his roommate or be overheard.

"This is she. Who is this?"

"My name is Naruto. I'm a classmate of Ino's. She's really sick and I was wondering if you'd know of anything that could help her get better."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine, but she's been puking a lot and she has a fever," he assured.

The woman paused to think. "Well, if she was at home, I would give her a lot of hot tea and make her chicken noodle soup if she felt up to it. Otherwise, I would just give her a lot of hot tea since it's easy on her stomach and keeps her hydrated."

"Anything else?" he asked, glancing over at Ino and watching the blankets rise and fall with her breaths.

"Nope, that's it. She does the rest on her own," she replied. "So, Naruto, how do you know Ino?"

"I'm her roommate," he answered.

"How many people besides you know who she is?"

"Nobody and I'd like to help her keep it that way. If I do this, do you think she'll be okay to return to school Monday?" Her secret would be out if the school doctor had to thoroughly examine her.

"Most definitely," she said. "How is she? I'm kind of worried about her, between you and me."

"She's a little quiet at times, but she seems fine to me. She gets along pretty well with my friends and me."

He heard her faint sigh of relief, "Good, I'm glad."

"It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Yamanaka, but I have to go before I get in trouble."

"I understand. Thanks for calling, Naruto."

Naruto ended the call, turned it off, closed the phone, and put it back where he found it in Ino's possessions. He immediately retreated for the cafeteria and fetched a large cup of hot tea and returned to his room. Gently shaking her shoulder, he coaxed, "Ino, wake up. It's almost ten-thirty."

Her eyes opened and searched her surroundings while they focused. "What?" she asked.

"I brought you some hot tea."

She eyed him suspiciously. "Are you serious?"

"What else would I have in this thing?" he asked. "Now, sit up."

Ino sat up slowly, running a hand through her untamed hair. She took the cup from him. "Uh, thanks." The sleepy gears in her head didn't seem to know what to think of it.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like crap, but better." She took a long drink of the hot tea. "I think I need another shower."

Someone knocked on their door.

"It's open," Naruto called.

Deidara opened it and sighed. "Can you give me a hand? Tobi hid a jumbo bag of Starbursts somewhere and I can't find it."

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, sure." He joined Deidara at the door and said, "Athrun, just yell downstairs if you need anything. It shouldn't be too hard to find."

He didn't meet an answer as he left the room. Finding the Starbursts proved to be a more difficult task than he thought. Once they had turned the room upside down with no luck, Naruto watched Tobi sitting on the floor in a fit of giggles.

"Where is it, Tobi?"

"I'm not telling," he chimed. Spotting a mass of lumpiness under the front of the upperclassman's shirt, he commanded, "Stand up."

"No," he giggled defiantly, knowing he'd been caught.

"Deidara, it's in Tobi's shirt."

"You mean we've been looking for that damn thing for the last three hours and he's had it the entire time?" he roared.

Tobi scrambled to his feet and made a run for it, one hand holding the hidden bag in place. "Mine!" he declared.

Chouji blocked his path when he came to see what Deidara was yelling about, giving the two blonde boys the opportunity to tackle Tobi to the ground. Other students walked out of their rooms to be spectators to the commotion.

"Give it to me!" Deidara ordered, wrestling Tobi on the ground.

"I don't want to!"

"Hand it over!" Naruto grunted as his hand was shaken loose.

"It's mine!"

Deidara ripped the bag free and held it out of Tobi's reach. "Not anymore, it's not."

"But I want it," Tobi whined, "You never let me have Starbursts!"

"You know how you get when you eat Starbursts," Naruto sighed, "And it's a little more than we can take."

Walking up the stairs, he knocked on the closed door of his room, leaving the upperclassman behind to pout. There was no answer, so he opened it carefully. Treading quietly, he entered the room to find his roommate fast asleep on top of her neatly-made bed.

By appearances alone, he could see a lot of improvement. Her skin had regained some of its normal color and there was a lack of sweat shining on her skin. She seemed cold, though, without the heat of her blankets.

"She'll get sicker that way…" he thought aloud to himself. Naruto plucked the top blanket from his bed and laid it awkwardly over her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Chouji looked across the cafeteria from their table. "Where's Athrun?"

Naruto shrugged. "I think he's making up his test from Friday."

Sasuke pointed to the cafeteria line. "He's right there."

They watched as her eyes flickered to them and her feet shift indecisively. It was like the weekend he had just cared for her until she was healthy hadn't happened, for her concern of his mindset.

'_He has to be mad at me…_' she thought. Ino looked down at the hot tea on her tray, reminding her that he continued to care for her up until this very morning, slightly making her less anxious.

Naruto jumped to his feet as she retreated and quickly blocked her path. "Hey, where are you going?"

She stared down at her tray. "To that table," she mumbled.

"Why don't you sit with us?"

Ino shifted her feet awkwardly. "Uh, because… I…"

He put an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards their table. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Aren't you still mad at me?"

Naruto couldn't answer because they were too close to the table and Chouji asked, "Why weren't you going to sit with us?"

"I…" she started, looking around the table, "I didn't think you wanted me to."

"Why wouldn't we?" Deidara asked, putting a French fry in his mouth.

Ino's eyes flickered to Naruto and back to her tray. She shrugged. "I don't know."

"As long as you don't give us what you had, we're okay," Chouji assured.

Table conversation was as loud and animated as usual, but Ino paid little attention. She didn't notice how Naruto was partially withdrawn from the conversation. Deidara elbowed Naruto in the side. "So, are you going to the dance?"

"What dance?" he asked.

"The dance in two weeks! Kids from the nearby schools will be coming, too," Chouji explained.

Ino froze as Deidara awed, "Their girls are so hot! The dance is going to be huge and everyone is coming."

"Everyone?" she asked.

Oblivious, he replied, "Oh, yeah."

Naruto looked over at her paling face as she scurried to gather her belongings. "I'll see you guys later."

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, sensing her distress.

"It's nothing," she answered quickly as she stood and sped out of the cafeteria.

"What's his problem?" Chouji asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I'll ask him later."

Sasuke poked at his salad with his fork. "You two are getting pretty close."

Everyone at the table watched Sasuke, but he and Naruto ignored them as if the two were speaking privately. "We've just been talking a little more over the weekend."

He chewed his food and looked up as he swallowed. "What did you talk about?"

"Just general stuff, like family and school and stuff."

Sasuke's eyes locked on him. The two were very close from their time as roommates, and they had known each other before Naruto's parents were killed and he had to move around. If anyone could make the blonde feel like a window, it was Sasuke. The Uchiha was harder to figure out, but Naruto could see through him, too, with enough effort.

"I see," Sasuke replied briefly before returning to his food.

"You two are kind of weird, do you know that?" Deidara commented.

The cafeteria began to clear out so Naruto stood. "Later, guys," he said as he left for his next class.

"The new kid is moving in today," Chouji said as he and Naruto entered the lobby, "And he's staying in the room a couple doors down from you."

"I just wonder what Athrun is going to think. He's been acting weird lately and he dodges the subject when I ask. It's not like him," he replied.

Both boys stopped in their tracks when they saw Ino running down the stairs at full speed for the door. Naruto caught her just outside the door, but she didn't give up. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Let go," she gasped in panic, "He'll recognize me."

"Who?" He was dragging her back through the door that Chouji was now holding open for them.

"Yamanaka, what's your problem?" Deidara asked from his stance at his room's doorway.

"Athrun, are you okay?" Chouji asked.

A door opened from the second floor, but she didn't freeze until she heard a voice ask, "Is he okay?"

Ino didn't move, so Naruto looked up to see three people standing on the second floor. Only one of them wore a school uniform, the other two seeming to be siblings of the redhead. One was a girl with long, blonde hair, one hand resting on his shoulder. The other sibling wore a black hoodie and smiling, apparently the one who spoke.

"He should be okay," Naruto answered, "Who are you?"

Pointing to the redhead in uniform, he replied, "Gaara," he pointed to the girl, "Temari," and he indicated to himself, "and Kankurou."

Ino twitched. "Naruto, let me go," she whispered pleadingly.

He ignored her. "I'm Naruto. What school are you from?"

"The high school just a few towns over. Temari and I were just making sure Gaara was settling in okay, and we'll check on him at the upcoming dance," Kankurou explained.

"Dad is waiting in the office; we need to go," Temari said quietly.

The two walked down the stairs and slowed when they neared the door. "It was nice to meet you," Kankurou said, "I look forward to seeing you again at the dance."

The moment the two were out the door and Gaara retreated to his room, Ino's arm was released and she wordlessly hastened to her own room. Naruto ran after her and opened the door seconds after it was slammed shut and closed it behind him.

Ino was scrambling around the room for her cell phone, but it was nowhere to be found. "Where is it, dammit? It's gone," she whispered desperately to herself.

Naruto knelt beside her on the floor where she was searching and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What's wrong?" When she didn't answer, he shook her shoulders and pulled her away. "You can't call your mom; someone will know at this time of day."

She froze with realization: Gaara would hear then, too. "But, Naruto, I can't stay here. He knows who I am!"

"Calm down, start from the beginning," Naruto soothed, cupping her damp cheeks with both hands to hold their eye contact, "What's going on?"

A knock echoed on the door and Gaara's voice asked, "Is everything okay in there?"

"We're fine," Naruto answered. When he saw the handle begin to turn, he barked, "Don't you dare open that door!"

The handle turned back quickly, and his footsteps soon retreated. Footsteps returned, but it was Chouji's gentle voice on the other side. "Naruto, can I come in?"

He looked to Ino first, who was calming down and trying to wipe away her tears. She nodded to give permission and stood when he released her cheeks. "Come in, Chouji," he said.

The door opened slowly and Chouji entered. "Are you guys okay?"

"I think so," Naruto said, eyes flickering to Ino.

"Close the door," Ino said quietly.

He did as he was told and leaned against it so they wouldn't be interrupted. "What's this about?" Chouji watched them exchange glances and asked, "Why are you even at this school? I remember you from Konoha Elementary."

Ino sighed. He really had recognized her. He had kept quiet. "Chouji, I need your help."

"Like what?"

"My phone is missing and I need to call my mom as soon as possible. Any suggestions to how I can get to the phone in the kitchen without being noticed?"

"There's no way unless you go in at the end of the dance so it'll be empty and easier to get in and out."

Ino sighed heavily and ran both hands through her hair. "Damn," she muttered. "Is it enabled for long distance to call her?"

"It should be."

"Should or will?"

"Will," he replied.

She rolled it over in her head. "It'll have to do. Thanks, Chouji."

"Why do you need to call her?"

"That's my problem," she replied, "Can you please leave now?"

Chouji sighed, "Always the bully; you never change."

Ino laughed once. "Well, you always did what I said."

Chouji opened the door and Gaara caught the door as it began to swing shut. "Athrun, can I talk to you?"

She watched him for several moments before muttering, "Sure."

He stepped in the room and turned to Naruto. "Could we have a minute?"

Naruto left the room, oblivious to her distress. He had enough sense to not stray far from the room, though.

Gaara smirked. "Nice haircut, Ino. How is my nephew?"

She glared. "What do you want?"

"Not much," he replied, stepping across the room to where she sat. "My brother would like to talk to you, though." Gaara held up her cell phone for a moment before tucking it in his pocket again. "You're not telling anyone, right?"

Her eyes pierced his defiantly. "What if I do?"

His hand flashed out and gripped her neck. "That would be a very bad idea for you," he growled.

She mentally kicked herself. She should have remembered his short-tempered and violent nature. "Got it," Ino choked out, "When does he want to talk to me?" She gasped for air as the blood pooled painfully in her head with no exit.

"He would rather talk in person. I don't know when yet, but I'll let you know." His hand loosened slightly so she wouldn't lose consciousness. "You'll know when because I'll either tell you or I'll knock on your door twice with a pause and then once."

His hand tightened again. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," she gasped.

"Good," he answered, releasing her and standing. "I'll see you later." Gaara leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "For now, I'm your ex-boyfriend, Athrun. Or your little roommate is going to disappear." With a cold kiss on the cheek, he stood and left eh room for his own.

Ino choked back some tears at the threat, and rested her face in her hands. She knew he could hurt Naruto, and he would if she gave him a reason to. She also knew Gaara wouldn't stop there: Riku and her parents would be gone, too, and possibly herself.

The door closed in her distant mind and she was shaken gently back to the present. "Please, stop crying, Ino. Someone will hear you," Naruto begged.

She scrubbed at her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Sorry," she sniffled.

"What happened? What did he say to you?"

"Nothing, he just wanted to check who I was."

"You know him?"

She nodded. "He…" she thought about his threat, "He's my ex-boyfriend."

"Are you serious?"

She nodded slowly and stiffly, like the motion was painful. It was, thanks to Gaara's previous grip on her neck, but that wasn't the reason.

"Is he going to tell anyone?"

Ino shook her head in the same slow, stiff fashion. "No." She choked back another quiet sob.

"Then what's wrong?"

She quickly made up a story. "I broke up with him for a reason, so I really don't feel like seeing him." Her hand rose over her eyes in an attempt to calm, but it was only made worse. "God, I can't believe this," she whispered to herself.

Naruto reached out and wrapped his arms around her shoulders awkwardly. "Don't cry, it'll be okay," he hushed quietly.

Ino wanted to disagree; she wanted to tell him it wasn't going to be okay, but her voice wouldn't work. When she found it, she said, "I need a shower."

"I'll take one after supper," he said, removing his arms as she stood.

She was opening the door to leave as she said, "I'm not hungry."

"I was hoping to get dinner together. It's been a while," Gaara said from his doorway.

He had been listening; she knew that. "I'm not really hungry. I'll pass today."

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Ino sighed with defeat. "All right, but I want to eat early." She leaned over the railing to yell to Chouji and Deidara in the lobby. "You guys hungry?"

"I'm starving!" Chouji answered.

"We're going to go eat. Are you coming?"

"Of course!"

Deidara shook his head. "Tobi and Sasuke probably are, though. Both of them missed lunch for tests."

"Go ask them," Ino answered.

He did so while she went back inside to put away her change of pajamas. "Are you coming, too, Naruto?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he replied.

Tobi didn't come to dinner, but it was just as well. Ino hoped to sit in between Naruto and Chouji but Gaara beat Chouji to the spot. Ino only had tea and fruit. Gaara watched her eat from the corners of his eyes. "So, what have you been up to, Athrun?"

"You two know each other?" Sasuke asked.

"More or less," Gaara replied.

"How?"

Gaara put an arm around her shoulders. "We used to date."

Chouji spit out his water. "What?" he coughed. He looked to Ino disbelievingly.

She didn't meet his gaze. "Yeah, he's telling the truth."

His hand reached up to tussle at her hair. "It's a shame things didn't work out."

Ino leaned away. "Please, don't do that, Gaara."

Sasuke stood. "Athrun, can you give me a hand with my worksheet for history class? I wasn't paying attention today."

There hadn't been homework in history, but she saw the opportunity. "Of course. See you later, guys."

The two walked briskly out of the cafeteria and Ino released an unconsciously-held deep breath. "Thanks, Sasuke. I owe you one."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notice: ** Okay, I lied… I know I said this would be the last chapter, but I decided to write an epilogue to it to lessen confusion.

I'll apologize right now that there are so many time jumps and inconsistencies . Don't hurt me!!! And thank you all for the hits and the wonderful reviews ^_^ I hope some of you can take the time to check out my other fanfics and check out my stuff (where the largest majority and first-updated of my fan-fictions are) in my gallery on deviantart sometime.

Also, there is a break in time towards the end of this chapter that the line break I type in keeps refusing to show up. I am trying to fix this problem, so I apologize for any confusion you may suffer because of it!

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy chapter five!!!

**Chapter 5**

Naruto stepped out of the shower to find Sasuke leaning against the wall. "Can I talk to you?"

"I actually was going to talk to you later," he spoke to himself, "But this actually works better for me."

"Did you notice how quiet Athrun was at dinner?"

He nodded. "Something isn't right about that new guy. I don't believe them. Athrun wouldn't go for someone like that, and he was really happy when you gave him a reason to leave."

"He was almost acting… like I used to around Itachi before he admitted to the hospital," Sasuke commented. "Do you think he's a batterer?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. Athrun was crying after talking to him alone." He dried his ears carefully as he thought. "Do you think I should confront him?"

Sasuke shook his head. "He probably doesn't want to talk about it."

"You're probably right," he sighed. "I'll just keep an eye on him for now. Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto left the showers and returned to his room.

Ino sat on her bed, face in her knees with her arms wrapped around her chest-tucked legs. He sat down next to her. "Hey, are you going to be okay?"

She lifted her head and nodded. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I just need to make that call at the dance." Ino tilted her head to let it rest on Naruto's shoulder.

He encased her in his arms. "If you don't want Gaara around, you can tell me and I'll tell him to buzz off."

Ino shook her head quickly. "No, don't say anything to him. I'm not worried about him, really."

"Fine," he surrendered, "You should sleep, though. The dance is in two days." Naruto moved to stand, but Ino grabbed his arm.

"No, please stay," she pleaded.

Watching her carefully a moment, he settled back to his place beside her. "What?" he asked.

"I just want to talk. Please?"

"About what?"

"Like… about why did you get into fights at your old schools?"

He shrugged. "Bullies picked on me and my friends so I had enough. Usually, they started the fight."

"I see," she replied.

The two talked for a while and fatigue piled on until Ino was forced to lie down and she pulled Naruto with. Her face buried in his chest and her arms rested around his waist like her own personal teddy bear. He noticed her arms felt cold, so he wrapped his arms around them, pressing one of his hands gently between her shoulder blades. The other hand stroked her hair lightly from the side so it wouldn't fall in her face.

They continued to mumble sleepily so that anyone else might believe they were talking in their sleep. Ino almost was, unaware of half of the conversation. She snuggled closer to feel his comfortable body heat. "I'm so glad you're alive," she mumbled with a smile.

He was slightly more aware of the conversation than she was. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"'Cause he's crazy," she whispered, falling into sleep.

"Who?"

A low hum rumbled in her throat sleepily. Her fingers tangled in his shirt. "Gaara," her lips formed soundlessly.

"Didn't you used to date him?"

"Mm-mm," she hummed.

She didn't answer anymore questions after that, lost in slumber. Naruto soon followed. The following morning, Naruto woke early when Ino began to wiggle around slightly.

His fingers stroked her hair out of her face as it tried to obstruct his view of her. He estimated breakfast would be open in an hour at six. Nothing he did helped him go back to sleep, so he tried to sit up. The slightest movement caused Ino's eyes to open.

"Naruto," she asked sleepily, "where are you going?"

He settled a little more comfortably. "Nowhere," he whispered, "How did you sleep?"

"Good," Ino replied, "What time is it?"

"I think it's about five," he answered.

Taking a deep breath with closed eyes, she opened them to ask, "So, where do we go from here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

Naruto scanned her face carefully. "I don't want you to be scared."

"You don't scare me," she assured.

He kissed her forehead. "I don't want you to leave."

"I won't."

Naruto touched his lips to hers gently.

Ino smiled and brushed her thumb over the scars on his cheek. "The cafeteria should be opening soon. We should get dressed."

"Decided who you're taking to the dance tomorrow?" Chouji asked.

"I think I'll just pick up a girl there," Deidara said, eating the last bit of his sandwich.

Sasuke answered, "I'm not going with anybody."

"What about you guys?" Chouji asked Naruto, Ino, and Gaara.

Ino stayed quiet while the others stared expectantly. Naruto replied, "I think I'll just mingle."

"Yeah, same here," Ino added.

"I don't like dances," Gaara said.

Setting down her empty bottle of pop, Ino notified, "I'm going to bed. I'll check on Starburst-boy before I take a shower, Deidara."

She walked back to the rooms and scolded Tobi briefly for eating Starbursts before proceeding to shower. Once she returned to her room, Naruto closed the door behind her. He spun her around and her arms strung around his neck.

He kissed her neck. "Did I scare you?"

"Nope," she said proudly, "I told you that you don't scare me."

He noticed her wince. "Then what was that?"

"Nothing; my neck is just a little sore."

"From what?" he asked just before he saw the bruises from Gaara. "How did you get those?"

"Rough tackle from Tobi?"

Naruto stared her down. "Really," he said, "Tell me."

"Can we just drop it? Please? I'm tired."

He sighed. "Fine, for now, but you're telling me eventually." Turning around, he climbed beneath his bed covers.

Ino crept into her own bed with an inward sigh of relief. The thought of telling him about Gaara rolled around in her head persistently, despite her constant squashing. She sighed. "Hey, Naruto?"

There was no answer, so she sat up and said his name again. He was sound asleep and appeared to have been so for a long time. Looking at the clock, she realized it had been an hour since they crawled into bed.

Naruto stirred in his sleep when he felt a warm pressure applying itself to his bed. His eyes opened a fraction. "Ino?"

"Couldn't sleep," she muttered in explanation.

He shuffled over in his bed to create more space for her entry. "Good-night," he mumbled.

Ino wasn't sure of when she had fallen asleep, only that she was awakened by the sound of two knocks, a pause, and then a third knock.

Her mind debated ignoring it while she slid out of Naruto's arms carefully and to the door. Gaara waited outside, fully dressed in normal day clothes and expectant.

"Follow me," he commanded quietly. The redhead strode down the hall and down the stairs with her not far behind.

Tobi slept soundlessly on the couch with a bag of Starbursts resting on his stomach. Ino subtly kicked the couch lightly in an attempt to wake him as they passed. He didn't stir an inch, but his hand gripped the candy bag slightly tighter.

'_Dammit, Tobi, wake up,_' Ino begged soundlessly, '_You have to get Chouji or Naruto!_'

She followed Gaara out of the dorms and the cold night air began to bite vengefully at her sleepy skin as they made their way across the empty campus.

***

Naruto woke to find himself alone in the room, Ino nowhere to be seen. He climbed out of bed and out into the hallway, checking the bathroom: it was empty. Next, he checked the showers to find one of them occupied, but he didn't check who it was.

Walking to the lobby, he kicked Tobi's couch. "Hey, how long has Athrun been in the shower?"

"Sasuke's been in the shower, not Athrun," he whined irritably.

"Then where's Athrun?"

"He went somewhere with Gaara and kicked my couch. Let me sleep!"

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know," Tobi grumbled irritably with the desire to sleep, "Probably boyfriend stuff."

Naruto huffed and turned for the stairs when the previous night's sleepy conversation kicked him in the stomach. '_'I'm so glad you're alive… 'Cause he's crazy…'_'

"Tobi, did you see which direction they went?"

***

Gaara twitched as he watched his older brother talk to Ino. It was very difficult for him to be so nonviolent for so long, turning him into a ticking time bomb. "Kankurou, hurry up. I'm losing my patience," he said dully with sharp undertones.

Kankurou held Ino painfully hard against the wall by her upper arms. "Cool it, Gaara," he snapped impatiently.

Ino squirmed, but the grip was painful. "Let go!"

His attention glided back to her direction. "You're not pointing any fingers at me, even if I have to break all of your fingers." He was speaking figuratively, of course, but Kankurou would actually break her fingers if he felt the need for it.

"Fine," she lied, "No charges."

"And I want to see the kid," he said, continuing to lay out his demands.

"Over my dead body," she spat without thinking.

He pulled her from the wall a moment just to slam her back against it again. "New answer," he growled.

She clawed at his arms. "Go to hell."

Another hand shot out and gripped her neck. Gaara barked, "I've had enough of this! I told you to let me handle this from the beginning, so now we're doing it my way!"

"Dammit, Gaara, back off," Kankurou hissed.

Ino gasped for air when Gaara gripped tighter so his nails dug into her already-bruised flesh. Her feet kicked, but always either missed their targets or hit too lightly to be effective. "Let go; I can't breathe," she choked.

Her hands couldn't reach Gaara's to try to lessen the force because of his brother's. She couldn't let them near Riku, not even if it was a lie. The thought was bone-crunching.

Kankurou's body shifted as he tried to elbow his brother to push him away. "Stop it; you'll kill her," he commanded.

Something slammed into Gaara and Kankurou, sending the redhead to the ground and Kankurou staggering, regaining his grip on Ino quickly. She couldn't see anything but spots, but loud punches were echoing around them as she tried to catch her breath.

She sunk to the ground after someone pried Kankurou's hands form her arms and she heard more punches thrown. The shuffling and painful blows were deafening until one set stopped. Looking up, she saw a wet-haired Sasuke kneeling in front of her.

"Are you okay?"

Ino kept focusing on her breathing, each breath feeling like knives sliding down the insides of her neck. She noted the condensation visible in the air with each exhale thanks to the night's chill before closing her eyes. She nodded. "Gaara…" she panted, "has my phone."

After a few more breaths, she asked, "Who else is here?"

"Naruto is here," he replied, moving to the side so she could see him.

Her eyes opened to see he was still fighting Gaara, Kankurou lying unconscious a few feet away. The redhead's face was swelling and his nose bled. Naruto's left cheek was red and swelling and he was bleeding from the upper lip. He almost looked like an entirely different person, so full of rage and hatred.

Gaara had given up the fight in spirit, but he continued to attempt throwing punches for just the sake of fighting. Others would have given up long ago and moved on, so Naruto as an opponent was something new and challenging that he found enjoyable.

"Naruto," Ino called, "You can stop now."

His fist froze as it was springing forward for Gaara's face, the other gripping the front of the losing boy's shirt. Naruto's anger melted like ice cream in a sauna on a hot day and he returned to looking like his normal, kind, caring self. Dropping his opponent, he caught his breath and growled, "_Never_ touch her _ever_ again, and you can pass that on to the sleeping douche bag when he wakes up."

Naruto stepped away slowly in case Gaara was up for another round, but the redhead stayed put on the ground and nursed his bleeding nose. Striding over to Ino and Sasuke, he knelt down to sit on his knees.

"Are you okay?" His eyes began looking for any signs of injury. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Her eyes locked with his before washing over his face to overview all of his new injuries from the fight. When their eyes met again, he watched as hers welled up. "Naruto," she choked.

"What?" he asked, full of concern.

Ino lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, clutching the back of his shirt. Her face buried in his shoulder, she sobbed, "I'm so happy you're here."

Momentarily shell-shocked, his arms slowly closed around her. "It's okay," he soothed.

She shook her head. "But you and-and-and Riku and Mom and," she rambled before Naruto hushed her again.

He pressed one hand to the back of her head and neck like he was cradling a baby. "I'm here," he comforted. Naruto looked up at Sasuke. "And what are you doing here?"

"I heard you talking to Tobi while I was getting out of the shower and I followed you here after I got dressed," he explained.

"I appreciate it. Thanks," Naruto said.

"My mom," Ino muttered in realization. She backed up slightly to look Naruto in the eyes. "I need to call my mom."

Sasuke stood and walked over to Gaara. "You, hand over the phone. Now," he commanded.

His fingers fumbled for the device before he tossed it to him. "You'll have to turn it on."

He turned on the phone before giving it to Ino. "Anyone want to tell me what's going on any time soon?"

"I'll tell you later, Sasuke," Naruto promised.

Ino pressed the speed dial for her mother and lifted the phone to her ear. She was unaware of her trembling arm until Naruto placed a steadying hand over it.

"Mom? Sorry for waking you up," she said. Pausing to let the woman talk, she continued, "I remember who it is. He's here at the school and so is his brother. Their names are Kankurou and Gaara."

She paused again. "No, I don't know their last name." Her hand ran over her forehead and through her hair as she took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm okay. A couple of my friends helped me."

"You probably should," she sighed, a little more exasperated, "I'll see you later, then."

Ino closed the phone and looked up at Naruto. "She's calling the police and they're coming here."

"Then… that means you're leaving," he whispered.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am," she sighed.

They walked out of the dark area to be more easily seen and waited until they saw red and blue lights came into their view. A few cars drove across the campus grass to them and stopped in front of them. Sasuke pointed to the two brothers. "They're over there, officers," he directed.

After Gaara and Kankurou were safely in handcuffs and sitting in the police cars, Sasuke Naruto, and Ino were escorted back to their dorms to wait for her parents and the headmaster. With all the commotion, several other students were waking up and stepping out of their rooms to see what was going on.

Ino buried her face in one hand. "So much for keeping it under wraps…" she muttered.

Naruto's hand rubbed gently over her back. "Don't worry about them; just ignore it."

An officer walked over. "Can I talk to you two?"

"Not right now, please?" Naruto replied.

The officer tired to protest, but a woman strikingly similar to Ino walked briskly over with a sleeping five-month old baby in her arms. "Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied as her arms reached out, "Can I have Riku, please?"

"We have to see the headmaster right away. Let's go," she said quickly, almost in a state of panic over the situation at hand.

"But, Mom--"

Her free hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling Ino to her feet and out of the building. Ino stumbled along, trying to keep her eyes on Naruto with her mouth open in a failed attempt to form words.

Naruto stood from the couch, and he believed he'd been doing so since Ino had stood. His jaw also remained ajar in a failed attempt at speaking. He closed them before whispering, "Bye… Ino."

~A Few Months Later~

Boys were stepping out of their rooms left and right to awe in disbelief at the guest. Ino expected all sorts of cat-calls and crude comments, but there was absolute silence other than the occasional whisper, "What's she doing here?"

Chouji stepped into stride beside her with a grin. "You're about to make his whole month. You wouldn't believe how much he's missed you."

Her face turned deep red, defying her unchanged expression. "I know," she muttered. '_Because I've missed him just as much._'

He knocked on the familiar door. "Hey, somebody's here to see you," Chouji called.

"Tell Pervy Sage to leave me alone and he's wasting his time," Naruto answered.

"It's not Jiraiya," he replied.

"Then who is it?" he asked grouchily as he cracked the door open.

He looked thinner and his eyes were dark, like he hadn't had much sleep, and his jaw dropped as his blue eyes fell on Ino. The door opened fully.

"Hey," she greeted.

Naruto saw that she, too, looked thinner than he remembered from when he last saw her, but her eyes were less dark from lack of sleep. She still looked tired, though. It had been three months since he last saw her when she had been packing her belongings to leave the school. "Ino…?" He rubbed his eyes roughly, just in case.

She ran into him and wrapped her arms around him tightly with joy. His own arms clasped around her faster than a Venus Fly Trap, and he swung her around in a circle. "I can't believe you're here!" he cheered.

"My dad said I can visit on Saturdays now," she informed.

"What made him decide that?"

Ino released her grip around him to cup his face in her hands, brushing a thumb over each cheek and palms resting on his soft skin. "Because I looked worse than you two days ago," she smiled slightly.

He smiled and crashed his lips up against hers and she kissed him back. They ignored him as Chouji coughed and retreated, snickering. They were busy with other things, so the scattered, teasing cat-calls from their friends weren't heard.

Ino broke free to breathe. "You need to get something to eat and put some meat on your bones." She wanted him to be healthy and start eating more again, like she had to as part of the bargain to see him.

Her face burned up when Deidara commented from behind her, "Interesting choice of words."

"Deidara!" she shrieked.

The building roared with laughter while Naruto kissed her on the cheek to take her mind off the embarrassment. He whispered in her ear with a foxy grin, "Tell Deidara he's just jealous because he looks more like a girl than you with short hair."


	6. Prologue Read last

**Author's Notice: **I know I said that Chapter 5 would be the last, but I had to write a little more due to some feedback I received. In addition, I also realized that I never explained the reason for the title of this fan-fiction! I chose it from a song titled "O2" by Orange Range from the verse that's translated to: _"Even if the world rots away, there is something that will never change. Even if we hold back our tears, we all have something we must protect. A message from millions and billions of years ago starts to throb and echo inside me. I call for tomorrow in a hoarse voice, I'll protect you with my wound-filled hands. I continue to fight, I continue to fight!" _(full lyrics found here: .com/anime/codegeass_ ) Personally, I thought it fit the story nicely ^_^ Enjoy!!!

**Prologue**

Ino walked around the living room where the christened dance floor was located, alcoholic beverage in hand. She glanced over and saw a dark figure standing amongst the other guests a few feet away. He'd been lingering close all night. She leaned in to her pink-haired friend, "Sakura, I think that guy has been following me around. Do you think he's been trying to ask me to dance or something?"

She was obviously unaware of it, having had much more to drink than her friend. "What guy?" Sakura looked around before elbowing Ino suggestively in the side. "Maybe he's just trying to hit on you, whoever he is."

She frowned in thought, biting her lower lip. "Maybe…" Ino found another drink thrust into her hands as soon as she finished the one she held. After two sips of it, she felt sick to her stomach and retreated to the kitchen to cool off. Her stomach was threatening to empty itself on everything around her, so she sat down on the floor.

Sakura arrived in the kitchen several minutes later. "Hey, what are you doing in here? The party is in the other room!"

Her hand rose to her forehead. "I think I've had too much to drink. Can we go?"

"But I want to stay," she whined.

"Fine, whatever," Ino groaned, her head pounding, "I'll be in here."

"Thanks," Sakura cheered. She left for the living room, bumping shoulders with Kankurou and saying a brief, "Sorry," for the contact.

He didn't reply, just peering into the kitchen at Ino before returning to the party.

Ino massaged her temples to soothe her aching head and groaned. She finished her class of alcohol before standing to refill it with water. The change in altitude mixed with the alcohol drained the blood from her head quickly and shut it down. She hit the floor solidly without stirring without any recollection of even climbing to her feet.

She felt very foggy and lacked any feeling of alertness as she felt pressure under her knees and shoulders like she was being carried. The unearthly feeling of floating made her nauseous through her fogginess. Ino groaned, "I'm going to puke."

The drifting feeling stopped as her body met something soft, relieving her nausea slightly. She looked up to see a shadowy face, unidentifiable unless you knew who you were looking for. Ino's eyes closed again as her head fell limply to one side with unconsciousness.

Next time Ino's eyes opened, she found herself on her couch and her hair in a snarly mess. Her head pounded angrily as she heard her mother's alarm clock blaring behind a closed door upstairs. "What happened last night?" she groaned, cradling her head in her hands. She felt strange, but she couldn't quite place the feeling. Steadying herself, she slowly climbed to her feet and walked to the kitchen with the idea of water and painkillers on her mind.


End file.
